But hang on...*he* cut me up. Um...

[swee'pea99]

So I was on the mini roundabout and he just drove round it like I wasn't there - not that close but still...

So I caught him up further down the road, pulled up on the nearside and when he wound down the window, started giving him a piece of my mind...gradually realising that I was talking over the top of what I presume was his son, maybe six, and that the driver was looking completely sheepish and apologetic, and not disputing what I was saying in the least, and before I knew what was going on all the wind had gone out of my sails and I was reduced from a steaming rage to, well, a bit cross, frankly. "You really should....drive more carefully," was my savage closing splutter, before I rode off feeling, well, a bit deflated, in truth..

That'll learn 'im.

 

[MattDB]

Very similar experience - I think it's because, in your anger you get pumped up for a 'battle'. Once I knocked on a rear window of a car which had pulled out of a junction in front of me causing me to brake hard. An old woman wound down her window and I said 'You erm, nearly hit me back there' she started to cry and I even disappointed myself!

Similarly, as a driver I always remember suddenly my passenger side window being hammered on by an angry cyclist, I politely wound down the window and he screamed at me "Are you trying to kill me?" I was so shocked and intimidated I just stuttered "I'm sorry". To this day I don't have a clue what happened. My best guess is he was cutting between me and the pavement while we were slowly moving and I failed to give him enough room as he squeezed past but I'm just not sure. I think we imagine dangerous acts to have been performed out of intent but can also be out of a complete lack of awareness. However ultimately the result would be the same, you run someone over you run them over whether you intended to or whether it comes as a complete surprise!

 

[RichardB]

Similarly, as a driver I always remember suddenly my passenger side window being hammered on by an angry cyclist, I politely wound down the window and he screamed at me "Are you trying to kill me?"

That was probably me (if it was in Hull city centre in about 1982). I was filtering at some speed between the line of cars and some roadworks on the left. The roadworks were surrounded by that stripey plastic tape held up by metal spikes. A car in front of me nudged to the left, I swerved, my left drop handlebar caught in the plastic tape and down I went. I ended up on my back in a trench with the bike on top of me, still strapped to the pedals but totally unhurt (I was young then). I caught the guy up and started giving him the usual 'do you realise you nearly killed me?' routine, when I realised he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. He was quite apologetic but rather puzzled, as he had not seen me at all. I was in his blind spot the whole time. When I thought about it afterwards, I realised that after nearly an hour's hard cycling followed by a very exciting 10 seconds flying through the air, I was properly pumped up and ready to vent my adrenaline wherever I could. The crash was my fault, and my reaction was totally the result of my physical state. I wasn't proud of myself, and I haven't done it since.

 

[martint235]

I think we imagine dangerous acts to have been performed out of intent but can also be out of a complete lack of awareness!

But I find this worse. When I commuted to central London (for about 15 years) I used to use the Old Kent Road. There were some numpties but near misses or cut ups were because I, as a cyclist, was in their way or because they just didn't give a sh*t about my safety, it never came across as them simply not being aware of me.
Now on my run to Croydon most incidents are because drivers just aren't aware of me. They are talking to Tarquin in the back or doing their makeup or reading the paper.

All I ask is that if you're going to attempt to kill me, at least do it on purpose